‘Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I don’t like that attitude. I can assure them it is much more serious than that.’
‘If you are first you are first. If you are second you are nothing.’ These are just some of the famous quotes that define how Bill Shankly made Liverpool the club they are today.
Never before has any manager come close to the philosopher that was the Scottish genius. That is until Jurgen Klopp walked through the Anfield doors. The former Borussia Dortmund manager inherited a club in tatters.
Out of the Champions League, struggling domestically and riddled with a complete absence of belief. Klopp’s model to turn ‘doubters to believers’ seemed an impossible job when he took the reins four years ago.
MADRID, SPAIN – JUNE 01: Jurgen Klopp, Manager of Liverpool celebrates with the Champions League Trophy after winning the UEFA Champions League Final between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool at Estadio Wanda Metropolitano on June 01, 2019 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)
How time flies when you’re having fun. Since that historic day in October 2015, Liverpool have been in three European finals, three successive top-four finishes and of course that famous night in Madrid.
Klopp’s influence on the Reds has been nothing short of miraculous. Finally, Liverpool have something tangible to show for their progress and the team are on course for a first league title since 1990.
One match in particular that personifies the belief the FIFA Coach of the Year has installed into the club is none other than the 4-0 victory against Barcelona. It’s to no surprise that arguably the greatest match ever played at Anfield has won the Great Coaching Moment of the Year.
#GreatCoaching Moment of the Year goes to…@LFC’s Jürgen Klopp ✨
The public has deemed Jürgen's coaching moment in the semi-final of the Champions League, where he brought together supporters & players in a rendition of #YNWA, as worthy of the coveted gong
Congratulations! pic.twitter.com/uaKwHNqIj3
— UK Coaching (@_UKCoaching) December 5, 2019
Klopp’s methods and achievements have defied logic whilst assembling the best team currently in world football. No other manager has had such an effect on the club since Shankly took charge in 1959.
Bob Paisley is undoubtedly the most successful manager in Liverpool’s and is, of course, a legend in his own right.
However, no manager since the great Scotsman who transformed the European champions into the force they are today has revolutionised the club like Klopp.